To achieve this, 17 backlit panels have been installed, including a bilingual information section in Spanish and English at each of the site's highlights, providing educational information about the site and its history. They also feature QR codes for viewing on-site audiovisuals with Marciano, the villa's villicus, acting as a guide, and subtitles for the hearing impaired. The panels also include information in Braille for easy access for the blind, maintaining their benchmark in accessibility. The investment was approximately €12,000, utilizing previous elements and media, as well as the institution's own information and resources.
The new museography also includes a video wall and a new audiovisual system in the auditorium for the playback of various documentaries about the history of the town, as well as a chronological panel, all in line with the latest advances in museology of current archaeological heritage.
Sixteen years have passed since the Palencia Provincial Council inaugurated the contemporary building that houses the Pedrosa de la Vega archaeological site and its museum project in 2009. The passage of time and the continued use of nearly a million visitors during this period have taken their toll on a system that was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The update was necessary for La Olmeda to continue being an international benchmark.
The Roman villa of La Olmeda, under the jurisdiction of the Palencia Provincial Council, has completed its modernization project for the museum site, which began in 2009. This project involved an investment of approximately 12,000 euros and recently concluded with the installation of new elements.
Not only is it one of the largest excavated villas in the Mediterranean, one of the most splendid and best preserved, but it has also been declared a Site of Cultural Interest since 1996 and one of the most important tourist attractions in the province of Palencia. It is the largest collection of polychrome mosaics preserved in situ in all of Western Europe and deserves a museography commensurate with the importance of the site.
In preparation for the summer season, when visitors are at their busiest, La Olmeda is responding to one of the requests it has been receiving in recent years regarding the information available at the site: updated information for the convenience of all audiences, accessible, with the use of new technologies, efficient and easy to maintain, placing La Olmeda on a par with the best museum sites.
This new investment in the Pedrosa de la Vega site aims to bring it up to the most modern standards. It does not replace on-demand guided tours with La Olmeda's educational guides, but rather increases the on-site information service for those visitors who wish to explore the villa independently and freely. These museum resources will serve to enrich guided tours for groups, as they will allow professionals who explain the site to draw on this new information.
INFORMATIONAL ELEMENTS. To achieve this, 17 panels have been installed in a landscape lectern design, backlit with efficient LED lighting. These panels include a bilingual information section in Spanish and English at each of the site's highlights. These panels offer educational information about the site and its history, complemented by virtual reconstructions of the site, infographics, photographs, and drawings that graphically interpret daily life in the Roman villa, the trades of the period, and archaeological research. The images serve as a support for visitors, helping them understand and interpret the archaeological remains before them.
Additionally, they feature QR codes for viewing on-site audiovisuals about the history of the site and Marciano, the villa's villicus, acting as a guide through the 3D-recreated villa and explaining daily life in the late Roman mansion. The videos are available in Spanish, English, and French, and also include subtitles for the hearing impaired. The panels feature information in Braille for easy access for the visually impaired. The aim is for La Olmeda to continue to be a benchmark in accessibility.
Each panel features a location map so visitors can find their way around the site. Visitors will also have access to a new information brochure, which can be downloaded from the official website: www.villaromanalaolmeda.com.
The new museum layout includes a video wall in the auditorium for the viewing of several documentaries covering the history of the town, its discovery, and the Palencia Provincial Council's renovation project in three languages. It also includes a virtual tour recreating the town at its peak, along with other documentaries about other tourist and heritage sites in the province. A new audiovisual system will allow for various activities, such as courses, conferences, and informative talks.
The new project includes a chronological panel at the end of the tour that summarizes the history of the archaeological site, from its discovery in 1968 on land owned by Mr. Javier Cortes Álvarez de Miranda, with previously unpublished images, the donation of the site to the provincial institution in 1980, the inauguration of the new contemporary building in 2009, and the awards, recognitions, and advancements the site has received since its renovation until today.
The project was coordinated by the Cultural Service of the Provincial Council of Palencia, headed by Elena Gutiérrez. The technical content management was carried out by Ana María Samper, a teaching guide for the Pedrosa de la Vega site and a graduate in Art History who specializes in Museology and Museum and Exhibition Design. She also supervised the English translations, along with Luis Ángel Arribas, also a teaching guide for La Olmeda and a graduate in History.
The project closely followed the latest advances in museology, museum supports, exhibition installation, and the virtualization of archaeological heritage in other museums and newly opened sites. Modern and highly visual graphic designs were used, helping visitors locate the necessary elements at a glance. Variations in color and fonts aid visualization and understanding of the texts, with different reading levels depending on the user's interest in delving deeper or deeper into the information. The texts are clear and simple, yet contain rigorous information based on archaeological research conducted at the villa and updated in recent years. In addition, a glossary of terms is included as a legend on each panel to simply explain to visitors the more complicated terminology or Latin words that should be retained.
